Professor Lyna Wiggins has been a respected member of the faculty for many years and has taught generations of students valuable GIS skills with enthusiasm and patience. Her students particularly appreciate the “real world” problems and applications she brings to her class. She updates her classes frequently and is adept at designing exercises that are both instructive and fun. Students frequently remark on Prof. Wiggins’ accessibility and helpfulness. Her research includes tax mapping to maximize revenue for local government; the geospatial analysis of lottery outlets in Middlesex County, which showed concentration in Hispanic neighborhoods; and the many hours required to revise courses each time new software is released. Her devotion to and effectiveness in teaching is exemplary.

Betty (Hsiutzu) Chang was a T.A. in GIS courses for several years before taking on the assignment of teaching the course herself. Both as a T.A. and now as a lecturer, she has demonstrated great patience and commitment to student learning. She has studied complex geospatial systems and, as importantly, mastered how to impart that knowledge to students.

Glen Belnay received his Ph.D. from Bloustein’s planning program in 1991 under the direction of Michael Greenberg, writing on the subject of recycling solid waste. He is an Environmental Planner and Health Officer for Hillsborough Township and for the last 15 years has also been an adjunct faculty member at the Bloustein School, teaching the course Administrative Issues in Environmental and Land Use Planning.

Dr. Crowley's main areas of research use both quantitative and qualitative methodological tools to continue work that focuses on the intersection of gender, political power, and political rights. Her research attention is focused on analyzing the Fathers’ Rights Movement in the United States; studying women’s political activism; and addressing topical issues in the state of New Jersey.

Dr. Newman seeks to understand urban change, what shapes it, and how the changes affect people of color, women, and the poor. Her research is focused on the processes of urban change and in the roles of capital, the state, nonprofit institutions, and communities in facilitating those changes, the impact of predatory lending on neighborhoods, and linking the themes of gentrification and foreclosures and is focused on understanding why cities change.

Dr. Shapiro's research focuses on the question of whether procedural requirements imposed on the regulatory process make a difference in the substance of regulations. The question is critical across a wide variety of policy areas, as regulations affect the environment, labor conditions, health policy, and, of course, the overall economy. His studies include the entrenched (notice and comment), the controversial (cost-benefit analysis) and the novel (new requirements imposed by the Bush (43) Administration. Effective in July, Dr. Shapiro also succeeded Professor Cliff Zukin as the new director of the Public Policy program.

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Professor Roland Anglin received a $310,000 grant from the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission for a two-year study to develop the “Governor’s Strategy for Save Streets and Neighborhoods.”

Associate ProfessorRadha Jagannathan has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to work in Germany. She will be spending part of the summer at the University of Konstanz teaching policy analysis and econometrics, as well as laying the groundwork for a research project on investment in personal human and social capital in young people aged 18-35, working with Konstanz, other German universities, and the University of Catania in Italy.

Robert Noland, Professor and Director of the Voorhees Transportation Center, was appointed Visiting Professor with the Department of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. He was also appointed
a co-chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Special Task Force on Climate Change and Energy.

Professor William M. Rodgers III, chief economist at the Heldrich Center, gave the Dr. Gerald K. Smith Social Issues Symposium keynote address at the 42nd Annual Conference of the National Association of Black Social Workers on April 9. At the conference he was awarded the Association's highest award, the Presidential Pyramid Award. The historical significance of the ancient Egyptian pyramid structure represents the struggle for, and attainment of, a pinnacle of knowledge and wisdom, combined with the willingness to share that knowledge and wisdom with our people.

Dr. Rodgers prepared the January 2010 study report, "Is the Stimulus Landing in the Neediest Communities?" The first study to systematically assess the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the report concludes that stimulus spending by the federal government reduced or reversed job losses in key states. During October and November 2009, employment levels were higher than expected in 33 states.

A study released by Dr. Hal Salzman, senior faculty fellow at the Heldrich Center, and Dr. B. Lindsay Lowell of Georgetown has found that contrary to longstanding fears among educators and employers, American students have demonstrated strong interest over the past three decades in science and math, with many choosing careers in science and engineering, Entitled "Steady as She Goes? Three Generations of Students through the Science and Engineering Pipeline," the study was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. While the data show no decline in students pursuing science and math, they do indicate that many of the highest performing students are choosing careers in other fields after graduation. The study has received considerable media attention, some of which are included below.

Dona Schneider, Professor and Associate Dean for Programs, is currently serving on the American Schools of Public Health (ASPH) Undergraduate Public Health Outcomes Project, an effort jointly sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She serves the project as a member of the Core Workgroup focusing on Personal and Social Responsibility. She is also serving as a site visitor for the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) this spring, evaluating the Colorado School of Public Health.

On May 15 Linda Stamato delivered the commencement address to the 2010 graduating class of Assumption College for Sisters. Her address discussed the historic role of religious sisters in teaching, healing, and social action.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie appointed Dr. Carl Van Horn, Director of the Heldrich Center, to the state's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). The panel will report directly to the governor, analyzing a broad range of state, regional, local and national economic conditions and offering high-quality advice on issues relating to New Jersey's fiscal health. Dr. Van Horn will serve with CEA chair Robert Grady, a partner in the Cheyenne Capital Fund; Richard F. Keevey, Director of the Policy Research Institute for the Region at Princeton University; Al Koeppe, Chair of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority; and Arthur F. Ryan, former Chair and CEO of Prudential Insurance Company. Van Horn previously served as chair of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority from 2006 to 2010.

The following books were recently published by members of the Bloustein School faculty:

Ann Deycurrently serves as the Senior Research Program Manager for the HIV Prevention Community Planning Support and Development Initiative. Her current evaluation research project is funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of HIV Services (NJDHSS, DHAS). The project, "Status is Everything" is a social media marketing campaign aimed at educating African American gay men living in Newark to be tested for HIV. She isalso conducting a ethnographic study of high-risk heterosexuals in Newark for the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System for NJDHSS, DHAS and CDC.

Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director of the Heldrich Center, has been recognized as a national leader for her efforts to create more employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The National Council on Disability, a federal agency advising President Obama and the U.S. Congress on issues affecting 54 million Americans with disabilities, has selected Ms. Krepcio to attend a major National Summit on Disability in Washington, DC in July 2010. She will be one of only 300 policymakers and experts nationwide invited to this event, marking the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ms. Krepcio was also honored with the 2010 Rebecca McDonald award, presented by the New Jersey chapter of APSE. She was cited for her leadership, knowledge, and a "tremendous degree of insight and sensitivity" in her efforts to ensure that every individual with a disability has the opportunity to seek employment at a competitive salary. Since 2007, Ms. Krepcio has directed the work of the National Technical Assistance & Research (NTAR) Leadership Center, a multi-million dollar initiative of the U.S. Department of Labor and its Office of Disability Employment Policy. Working with 21 states and the District of Columbia, the NTAR Leadership Center seeks to build capacity among workforce and disability specialists at the state and local levels to increase employment and economic self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities.

In April Adjunct Professor Wansoo Im, Ph.D., President of Vertices, LLC and students Gretchen Grajo (Rutgers), Hiroyuki Yamada (MIT), and Carl Kunda (Rutgers) made a presentation at the national conference and annual meeting of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts, "Transformative Tools for Delivering Justice in the 21st Century." Their presentation, A-7 Innovations Solutions Showcase: E-Tools for Examining Demography and Conducting Social Research, discussed and demonstrated easy-to-use, easy-to-access location-based technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), social media platforms, and the Internet as valuable tools to be used by court systems and other public agencies both for research and outreach.

In a recent article for the American Society for Competitiveness’ journalCompetition Forum Journal, Robert L. Lattimer, Senior Fellow for Diversity Studies at the Heldrich Center, discussed the opportunities that President Obama must address as his administration adopts a new world view. The article, “Barack Obama: Race, Diversity, and America’s Global Competitiveness,” November 2009, explores how America’s race relations may be limiting the nation’s capacity for creativity and innovation.